It's Never Too Late
by Bon-chan
Summary: AU.  Claire, now a member of the BSAA, is sent into Spain to help out an old friend.  How will things turn out after being separated for years?  Will things ever be normal again?
1. Chapter 1

Alright, so it's been years since I've posted anything on this site and I think it's about time I get back into writing. :) This is just something that's been floating around in my head since Resident Evil 4 has come out (I know, it's been YEARS) but playing RE:ORC has totally inspired me to write. I hope you all enjoy this! Feedback and criticism is always welcomed. Please let me know if you're interested in being my beta reader as well. 3"Redfield, I need to talk to you for a minute."

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><p>"Where am I being shipped off this time?"<p>

"Well, hello to you too. Your lucky ass is being sent to Spain. Apparently a government agent has run into a few problems with the locals."

"And what exactly does this have to do with the BSAA? Last time I checked I'm not an escort service. And don't even try to turn that into one of your dirty jokes."

"Our hands our tied with this one—it's a direct order from the President. It looks like he sent in an agent to search for his kidnapped daughter and according to said agent's contact, it's been lead to believe that the locals in some remote village have been infected with a virus that has made them extremely hostile."

"Virus? Oh, you do know how I love zombies."

"I don't think we're dealing with the undead this time. I'm your contact for this mission, by the way. You're being sent in as backup and to assist in getting the President's daughter to safety. Also, I want you to gather any information you can about what's going on over there. We may be facing a new bio-terrorism threat."

"Well, that sounds like a lovely walk in the park. And you're my contact? Great, I'll have someone get a head start on my grave right now."

"You're hysterical."

"Hey, hey, hey. Remember the bridge that _was _supposed to be there during my mission in Russia? Or the lake that _wasn't _supposed to be there in my last mission? You nearly got me eaten by a damn crocodile!"

"Those are just technicalities. Don't worry, I'll make sure everything goes nice and smooth this time around.

"Right, that's what you said last time. But, I digress. So anyway, who's the sorry ass agent that needs saving?"

The man behind the desk smirked at this and threw the open mission folder across the table. The person in front of him visibly scoffed out of surprise.

"You have got to be shitting me. This isn't the reason why you're sending _me_, right?"

"Oh come on, I thought you'd enjoy this," the man said sarcastically. "Honestly, I would have liked to have you rest up for a while longer since you've just come back but the higher ups feel like you're best suited for this job. And won't it feel nice to be the one saving Kennedy's ass this time? How long has it been since you guys have seen each other anyways? Hell, when was the last time you talked to him?"

"It's been four…five years, maybe? I don't know; we're both busy people. He got picked up by the government and I wandered around not knowing what to do with my life until it brought me here."

The man looked up at the woman in front of him solemnly. "You still feel guilty, don't you?"

"Of course I do! If I hadn't left so fast maybe Leon and Sherry wouldn't have been caught. Maybe they'd still be a part of my life. I could have kept them safe." The young woman's shoulders began to shake uncontrollably out of anger and guilt.

The man got up from his desk, walked around, and put his hands on her shoulders. "Claire, you don't know that. You don't know what could have happened so quit blaming yourself, I know Leon doesn't." Claire shot him a look but said nothing. "I've met him before, you know, and talked to him, too. He told me not to say a word but I think you need to hear it. He doesn't regret how things happened, and I swear all the rookie could do was ask about you. He was glad that you were able to choose your own path in life. You never asked for this, Claire. None of us asked for this but if you hadn't gone looking for me in Raccoon that night, you would have been able to live a relatively normal life. Leon knows this—we all know this. And even though you're still here fighting the good fight, it's because you chose to. Had you been caught with Leon and Sherry, you'd probably be in the same situation as Leon right now."

Claire sighed in defeat and wrapped her arms around her massive brother. "Thanks, Chris. That really meant a lot to me. I guess I am glad that I got to decide what to do with my life. I've always felt so guilty about what happened that I've never been able to appreciate what Leon did for me by letting me go search for you."

Chris gave her a slight nod and ruffled her hair, which has been a habit of his since they were children. "Don't worry about it Claire. Just get yourself through this mission and back here safe and sound. Then you can spend all your time praising me about how amazing I am." Claire scoffed at him and shoved him lightly causing Chris to laugh. "Okay Redfield, you better get ready, you leave tonight."

Claire moved towards the door but stopped briefly and turned back towards her brother. "Will you be there to see me off like a good big brother should?" She looked at him expectantly. Old habits died hard with the Redfield's. Ever since they were young, Claire and Chris would make it a point to be there to say goodbye when one of them had to leave.

"You know me, Claire Bear. I'll be there."

"Good." Claire walked out into the hallway. "And Chris? Lay off the steroids, will you? I can barely give you a proper hug these days. And you know how Jill feels about "artificial" men." Claire's laughter could be heard as she moved through the hall.

"You take that back Claire! I can't help it if I look this sexy. I guess my body just loves me!"

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><p>And there you go! I hope you all enjoyed this. :) Please let me know what you think!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Hey you guys! Here's the next chapter, I hope you are all enjoying the story so far. Don't worry, Leon will be making his appearance soon...along with Ashley as much as I hate to include her in this. I'm sorry if anyone likes her, but really, she got in the way waaayy too many times in RE:4. I swear, I had more game overs from accidentally killing her than anything else. Please let me know what you guys think, I'd really appreciate some feedback! Happy reading!

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><p>Claire sat back against the seat and closed her eyes, letting her mind wander for a bit. The whirring of the helicopter blades kept her from falling asleep so she used her time to think about her mission, which inevitably lead to thinking about Leon.<p>

After she and Chris came back from Antarctica, she learned that the government had picked up Leon and Sherry. Guilt struck the youngest Redfield: the loss of Steve, Leon, and Sherry was almost too much for her to handle. She tried to return back to her normal lifestyle but there was no such luck. Trying to forget that anything happened just didn't work for Claire. She eventually dropped out of school due to her inability to focus. It wasn't that Claire didn't have the grades, she was definitely on track to go to medical school; it was just that she didn't know what she wanted anymore. Plus, the nightmares she had kept her up on most nights, turning her into a bit of an insomniac. Claire packed up and left, wandering the country while trying to figure out what the hell she was going to do with herself. Chris was definitely not happy with his sister's choice in leaving school, but decided that her wellbeing was much more important and respected her decision to go out on her own for a while. He knew that Claire knew what she was doing. As much as he may have wanted to, he really couldn't say much in the matter either. Jill reminded him that he did the same thing when he was younger, before he joined S.T.A.R.S.

Leon had contacted Claire only once and it was during this time—Claire could remember it like it was yesterday. She was driving through the suburbs of Michigan when he called. Not recognizing the number, she picked up the phone, not really knowing whom to expect. Immediately upon hearing his voice, any sort of control Claire had over her emotions broke. She couldn't remember the last time she cried. She didn't cry when the realization of a zombie outbreak in Raccoon hit her, hell, she didn't even cry when Steve died. During those times, Claire's life was in far too much danger for her to allow herself the luxury to break down. But hearing Leon refer to her as his "partner" was enough to send Claire into hysterics. The conversation was brief, and to Claire it seemed that Leon was on some kind of time limit but she was just relieved to know that he was okay. He assured her that he was fine and although he didn't know where Sherry was, the government had promised him that she would be safe. Leon also continued to tell her that he had agreed to work for the government although the description of his new job was vague. This immediately alerted Claire that what he was doing was definitely not safe. And even though she worried for the wellbeing of her friend, it was what Leon told her next that really helped Claire realize what she needed to do.

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><p>"Leon, why did you agree to do this? You don't need to keep risking your life for something you can't even guarantee."<p>

"Claire, if there's a chance I can stop this, if there's even a small chance that I can make a difference to keep the world safe, to keep _you_ safe, then I'll gladly risk my life doing so." His voice had been so sure, so determined, that Claire could not argue with him.

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><p>Claire smiled to herself, remembering his words fondly. It was not long after that conversation that Claire returned back to her brother, determined to raise hell. Joining Chris and Jill, Claire helped form the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, better known as the B.S.A.A. And well, here she is now.<p>

"Hey Red, we're nearing the drop zone," the co-pilot, Shaun, yelled to her over the noise. Claire opened her eyes and gave him a nod. "You'll be dropping in a little ways from the hot zone to keep things quiet. Contact Chris when you touch down and he'll navigate you through. Well, he'll get you through the best he can." Claire shot him a dirty look and he laughed a laugh that reminded her of her father.

"Don't worry, Red. As long as there are no bridges, I'm sure you'll be fine. Now, be careful, and make sure to lay it in on a few of them for me, yeah?" The older man's eyes lit up with mirth as he gave her a quick wink.

"Don't worry, Shaun, I'll take care of it." Claire stood up, double-checking her supplies in her pack and tactical vest. She quickly retied her combat boots and checked for the knife she had strapped there and gave the man a quick nod. Shaun helped Claire get her harness on, clipping the buckles to it as he went.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Here Claire, it's a gift from the boys." Shaun handed her a box, which she gave a slight shake and opened. Claire picked up the object inside, revealing a Desert Eagle. She inspected the gun and her smile grew as she saw the engraving.

"Made In Heaven, huh?"

"Well yeah, they figured since you can't wear that vest of yours out on a mission without attracting some kind of unwanted attention, this would be the next best thing."

"Thanks, Shaun." Claire hugged her pseudo-father, "make sure to tell the boys that I said thank you, too. I love it." She placed the magnum in her side holster "The boys", as Claire fondly called them, were from her old unit. Before becoming a solo agent, Claire led her own Special Operations Unit for a little under two years. Her boys often teased her for her faded pink vest, giving her the nickname "Angel" until she effectively disarmed over half of her unit in less than five minutes. Still, Claire's unit told her she was anything but "pink". Claire couldn't help it though. She still had that vest from all those years ago and occasionally wore it around the office from time to time. It was her security blanket.

Claire stepped up to the jump platform and turn to look at Shaun. She gave him a cheesy smile and a lazy salute and fell backwards into the night.

"That girl," Shaun sighed. "Always with the dramatics."

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><p>Wooo okay! We'll be getting into the action soon, don't worry. And if things play out right, Leon will be making his appearance in the next chapter or two. I'm really enjoying how this story is turning out and I'm hoping to update this sometime during the weekend if not before.<p>

By the way, has anyone seen the new RE:6 Captivate Trailer? If not...PLEASE GO WATCH IT RIGHT NAO. :] No really, do it now. It's amazing and I pretty much had a brain explosion when I watched it. I cannot wait for November to get here! Leon looks so old though. :( I do not approve of what Capcom is doing to my video game boyfriend. Chris looks as youthful as ever though. RE:6 really looks like it's going to play out like a movie, though. By the way, are any of you guys playing RE:ORC? I'm downloading the new content right now and hopefully I'll be able to play for a bit before I knock out for the night. If you guys are on PS3 send me your PSN ID and maybe we can play! :D


	3. Chapter 3

And here's the next chapter! I'm sorry it's a little late, work and school totally took over my weekend. :( Thank you all for the reviews by the way! I love hearing what you guys think. :) Remember, if you guys are on the PS3 send me your PSN ID so we can play RE: ORC. Who doesn't love shooting up zombies in a group?

By the way, there is a flashback in the chapter which I indicate with some well placed dash marks :P I just wanted to give you guys a heads up.

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><p>"Well, this is magnificently shitty," Claire sighed as she continued through the outskirts of the town. Claire had been playing cat and mouse for the past hour and she was definitely not in the best mood. She sighed one more time as she shook the hair out of her ponytail. "Hey, Jill?" Claire asked for her friend through her headset. While doing so, she gathered her hair up once more and placed it in a ponytail that sat high on her head. 'I guess things really don't change much,' Claire mused.<p>

After Claire managed to land safely, she checked in with Chris to figure out where she needed to go. Unfortunately, Chris's directions took a turn to the worst and lead Claire directly into an incredibly large troll. Sure, she'd seen zombies, lickers, and mutated dogs, but finding a troll that was easily three times her height was something new. Having to run for her life, she spent nearly an hour trying to get the large oaf off of her trail. This definitely was not the welcome party Claire had expected. Then again, leave it to Chris to lead Claire to something freakishly abnormal.

"Yes, Claire?" The older woman's voice came through the communicator and calmed Claire down somewhat. While Claire and Chris were extremely close, there were just some things that she could not talk to him about which is probably why Claire seemed to get along with Jill right away. Claire loved her brother and knew she could talk to him about everything, but sometimes he was just _too_ much of a man. His constant advice of "shooting it in the head" could only get Claire so far in life.

"Have you gotten in contact with Leon's support? And tell Chris to stop moping; I can hear him all the way over here. He can get back on the communicator as soon as I figure out where the hell I'm going."

Jill laughed and shot a look towards the eldest Redfield, sitting to her right, who was pouting like a child who had just been told he couldn't have any dessert. "Don't worry Claire, he's right here. We've gotten a hold of Hunnigan and it looks like they're heading to the north end of town. We're setting up a rendezvous point near that location for you two. Since Ashley is with him, they'll probably be moving slower so you should be at the location at the same time. Things look safe for now but if you run into any hostiles, do not hesitate to defend yourself. It looks like the virus they are infected with will not allow them to be swayed."

"Roger." Claire took out her Desert Eagle and checked the chamber once before putting it back in its holster. "So Chris, this means I should probably shoot them in the head, right?" She smiled to herself. Sure, her brother knew how to annoy her to death, but she could never be mad at him for too long…even though his less than stellar navigational skills always seemed to threaten her well being.

"Hell yeah, Baby Sister! That's exactly what you do!" Chris pumped his fist in the air, a look of excitement and determination on his face, even when he nearly fell over his chair.

'Geez, he's not even there and he's pumped up,' Jill thought to herself. She smiled as she thought about the Redfields. Jill had met Claire around the time she joined S.T.A.R.S. and even then the girl was fiercely loyal and protective of her loved ones—a trait that both Redfields shared. They also seemed to both have a love for firearms. At least once a week, the siblings can be found in the shooting range screaming at each other over their silly competitions. While Jill loved the qualities the Redfield siblings shared, she was equally relieved that they had their differences as well. Claire was a very agile fighter; her cat-like reflexes and finesse making her deadly on the battlefield. Jill could not imagine Claire taking on Chris's fighting ideals, which generally revolved around causing as much destruction as possible. Hell, she couldn't see anyone being like that besides Chris.

"Alright," Claire's voice broke Jill's thoughts, "I'm gonna start heading north. I'll contact you after I cover a bit more ground."

"Okay, Claire. Remember, we want you in and out of there as quietly as possible. Keep as much of a low profile as you can."

"Oh, you take away all of the fun," Claire pouted. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Redfield out." Claire shut off the communicator and started her trek north.

Claire moved around, being wary of her surroundings. She definitely didn't need to run into that troll again. "I have to remember to cross Spain off my vacation list when I get back home," Claire muttered to herself. The cold weather and bland environment wasn't exactly what Claire had in mind when she thought about Spain. She couldn't complain though, as far as the environment is concerned, Claire had been in much worse places. It was about a mile in that Claire ran into her first local. She almost missed the man as she passed a cabin because he was hunched over something. Claire hesitated at first but decided to try and see if the man had heard of anything unusual going on in the town. Calculating how far she was from the village, she decided that the threat of the virus spreading here would be low since she was still far.

"Excuse me, Sir," Claire asked. The man did not respond to her, seemingly busy with whatever he was doing. She tried to get his attention one more time. "Sir." She said with a bit more force. The man stood up and turned around, revealing what Claire couldn't see before. The sight before her made her flinch. The man was hovered over what appeared to be a dead woman's body. Claire figured it was a woman, she couldn't be sure since the head was severed and did not seem to be anywhere in eyesight. From the looks of it, the body had been deceased for quite some time. Claire snapped her attention back to the man in front of her. She took a closer look at his face and noticed that his eyes were unnaturally red. 'Shit. The virus has spread out to here?' Claire took out her sidearm and raised it slowly.

"Sir, back down," Claire tried to reason with him. She knew she was given clearance to protect herself, but it was her last resort. Sure, Claire had no problem shooting zombies in the head but this man definitely didn't seem like one. The man continued to advance towards Claire and she could hear him muttering things in what was clearly Spanish. 'Definitely not a zombie,' Claire thought. He stumbled a few steps closer to her and she noticed him take a dagger from his belt. Claire raised her gun, aiming for his shoulder.

Claire pulled the trigger and the sound of the gunshot resonated within the forest. The bullet seemed to only hinder the man for a second before he made his advance once more. 'Well, this seems unfortunately familiar,' she said to herself, remembering her first encounter in Raccoon City. 'I guess it's time for me to take your advice, Chris,' she thought grimly, switching her aim to the man's head. Claire fired one round and the bullet was sent right between her attacker's eyes. The force of the bullet sent the man flying backwards and he toppled over, unmoving. Claire waiting for any sign of movement, and time seemed to still. Satisfied that she neutralized the enemy, Claire slowly approached the body to inspect it.

"No rotting flesh. He's definitely, _definitely_ not a zombie," Claire said to no one in particular as she crouched down. "If they really are infected, it can't be the T-Virus, but what could it be? I need to keep a look out for more information." Claire noticed a photograph tucked into the man's shirt pocket and picked it up. She looked at the photo and her eyes widened as she realized she was looking at a photo of her, Leon, and Sherry from six years ago. She had totally forgotten that they had taken it. It was the only photo she knew that had all three of them together.

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><p>"Come on, Claire! Let's take a picture with Leon!" Sherry said excitedly as she and Claire walked out of the grocery store. Sherry tugged Claire by the hand towards the car where Leon was waiting for them. They had been on the move for some time now, traveling across the country to some of Leon's family in Seattle. Leon had given Sherry a camera in hopes of distracting her from the nightmare they had just survived.<p>

"You heard her, Leon, it's picture time. But before that, you need to take your medication," Claire said as she and Sherry entered the car. Sherry hopped into the backseat, waving her camera around enthusiastically as Claire took her place on the passenger side. She opened up the glove compartment and withdrew a bottle of antibiotics. She opened the bottle, took out two pills, and handed it to Leon along with a bottle of water. "How are you feeling?"

"Still hurts, but it's…better," Leon replied, giving her a tired smile. After they made it out of the city, Claire had cleaned and stitched his wound, which was probably one of the most mortifying experiences of Claire's life. She was definitely not a nurse, but it was the best shot they had at making sure Leon was safe. A bottle of vodka and an hour later, Leon was out cold and all sewn up. Thankfully, the bottle of antibiotics was in the car that they had found abandoned right outside of the city.

"Come on, you guys! I want to take a picture!" Sherry said impatiently, her arms crossed as she pouted at the two adults. She handed Claire the camera as Claire laughed softly.

"Okay, okay, but you get up here too," Claire said as she took the camera from Sherry. She placed it on the middle of the dashboard as Sherry sat herself in the space between the two front seats. "Come on, Leon," she said. "Okay, ready? One…two…three!" Claire smiled as she took the picture.

Claire sighed as she shook herself out of the memory. She smiled fondly at the photo and took a closer look at it. She and Sherry both had large grins on their faces and Sherry had been holding hands with both Leon and Claire. She shifted her gaze to Leon and smiled a bit wider. He wasn't looking at the camera. Instead, he was looking at Claire and Sherry, a soft smile on his face.

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><p>"That Leon, always looking after everyone but himself." Claire stood and put the photo away in one of the pockets of her tactical vest, intent on giving it back to the owner.<p>

It was late in the afternoon when Chris contacted Claire again. "Hey Little Sis, how are things holding up?"

"Oh, they've been holding up. I've run into a few more hostile locals that held me back for a bit. One in particular seemed to have a fascination with _chainsaws_. Somehow, I find myself wishing we were dealing with zombies," Claire shuddered at the thought.

"Damn, chainsaws?"

"Yeah. I don't know what happened here, but it's some freaky shit. What was even weirder was that they all just got up and left after they heard a church bell ring. It was like they were hypnotized."

"Maybe it was time for Sunday Mass?"

"I don't know, but some of them kept muttering things about a 'Lord Saddler'. Can you look into that and see if anything comes up?"

"Of course. Well other than that, you're okay?" Chris asked his sister.

"Oh yes, you know. I get chased after with axes an shovels and chainsaws every day," Claire said as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, look on the bright side. All this running will keep your ass looking nice. I know how much you enjoy keeping your appearance up." Chris joked.

"You are just hysterical, Christopher," Claire said, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"You know your missions wouldn't be the same without me, Claire Bear," Chris said trying to keep the mood light. Truthfully, Chris tried to keep things lighthearted when he knew there was a lull during missions. Sure, some people thought he was crazy but there was a purpose to his insanity. He knew just how stressful these missions were and cracking a few jokes, _providing some normality_, could do wonders for an agent, especially when they went solo. He knew just how fucked up in the head people could get and he wasn't about to let his teammates, let alone his sister, suffer through that. "Okay, I want you to rest up for a little while since your location seems safe. How's your ammo?"

"Roger. And for the ammo, I'm doing pretty okay. I've actually been able to find a few boxes of ammunition here and there. Who knew they'd be using guns out here, right?" Claire said. "I've only been using my side arms, I figured I'd save the big stuff for something important," she said while looking at her assault rifle she had placed to her side. She had to give the BSAA some credit; they really knew how to equip their agents.

"Sounds good. And I'm glad to hear that you aren't trying to see how long you can go with just your knife this time," Chris said, and Claire could have sworn she could hear his eyes roll at her.

"Okay, if I remember correctly, you're the one who came up with that stupid competition when we were on our last mission together," Claire remarked. "And I'm pretty sure I won that bet, by the way."

"Now, now Baby Sister. Who's your support for this mission? I may just decide to send you the long way around if you ever bring that up again."

"Fine, fine, not a word Brother Bear. Before I forget, I came across a very interesting file that I think needs to be looked over. It refers to something called "Las Plagas", have you ever heard of it?" Claire said. "I think it may be what the villagers have been infected with."

"I haven't heard of it, but I'll look into it today along with that Lord Saddler you mentioned. This may be a new bioterrorist threat we have to worry about."

"Definitely, I'll see what else I can find." As she was about to continue, she heard yells and movement outside. "Chris, something seems to be going on outside. I'm going to take a look and see what's going on. I'll contact you once everything has settled down," Claire said as she stood up, getting her assault rifle ready.

"Okay Claire, stay safe."

"Gotcha. Claire-" Before she could even finish her sentence, the door burst open and Claire aimed at the figures who came tumbling in.

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><p>Sorry for the cliffhanger! I just really felt like this would be the best place to end things for now. Don't worry though, I should be updating sometime this week so keep yours eyes open for that update. :) PS. Have any of you heard of that zombie run? It's called Run For Your Life and it looks sooooo amazing. There's one in October that's close enough to me and I'm really debating whether I want to do it or not. But really, <em>running<em> away from zombies? You know I'm not going to be caught dead without some kind of firearm with the apocalypse happens. -_-

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Love you guys!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay. School has just been so hectic with the semester coming to a close. I hope this chapter makes up for it though! I wanted to thank all of you for messaging me, subscribing, and reviewing this story. You guys really know how to make a girl feel loved! Please enjoy. :)

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><p>"Do you think we've lost them, Leon?" Ashley managed to get out while panting for air, standing behind the agent. Leon scanned his surroundings, checking to make sure that the place was secure. He shuddered as a brief memory of the lickers hiding behind the one-way glass at the Raccoon Police Station crossed his mind.<p>

"I think we're clear for now," Leon said as he patted the girl's shoulder reassuringly. He knew what his mission was to protect the President's daughter from all harm but he couldn't help but hope that the girl knew at least how to handle a gun. It would have made things a little easier to have another pair of eyes and an extra gun to keep them going. Her eyes widened in horror when he even mentioned if she could use a gun.

'You can't keep hoping that everyone you rescue is going to be like Claire.' Leon laughed to himself. He liked to think that he was Claire's knight in shining armor that night but the truth was that girl could have handled her own. Hell, Leon would even admit that she saved him a few times as well. It was unfortunate that either of them had to go through that situation but he knew that Claire could have made it out on her own had she needed to. Claire was a survivor.

"We'll rest here for a little bit and make our way through the town," Leon said. He would have liked to push forward but taking one look at Ashley, he knew that they had to stop. They had been trying to get past the locals for at least the past hour and any adrenaline she could continue using was spent. Even he was tired but he had a mission to complete.

"Leon, we're going to be okay right?" Ashley looked up at the agent in front of her. She had been worried about what Saddler told them shortly after Leon found her. She was infected…they both were. Ashley didn't know exactly what was going to happen to her, but she had a feeling it wasn't going to be much different from those things that were chasing after her and Leon.

"Hey, we're going to be fine, okay?" Leon said, placing his hands on the girl's shoulders. "I promised both you and the President that I'd get you back home safe and sound, and that's exactly what I plan to do." Leon said adamantly, bringing brief comfort to the young woman. Leon was a fighter; a protector. It's what made him decide to be a cop when he was younger. Even though he was probably dealt the shittiest cards known to man, Leon still felt the need to protect, probably more so now than ever before. After making sure Ashley had calmed down, he took out his communicator to contact Hunnigan.

"Leon, I've got some good news," Hunnigan said through the communicator.

"Thank God, Hunnigan. What do you have for me?"

"The President has deployed the BSAA to rendezvous with you." Hunnigan answered.

"Come again?" Leon was surprised to say the least. "The BSAA? That's Chris Redfield's organization, right? Who did they deploy?"

"An agent was sent in. Any more would have caused too much attention. You'll have to keep heading north from your location to meet though." Hunnigan stated while adjusting her glasses. She was slightly frustrated. Information was not coming fast enough to her and she couldn't give Leon much more information than she already had. She didn't even know the name of the agent that was sent in.

"The BSAA is involved now? What new information was uncovered? Shit. This is a lot more serious than we though. Is this a new potential bioterrorism attack?" Leon said, his mind racing.

"Apparently, word has been received that the locals you have come in contact with are infected with an unknown virus. The BSAA agent that was sent in is responsible for helping you escort the subject out of there and to gather any other information that may be useful. I'm sorry, Leon, but that's all I really have. Everything is really hush hush on their end. They're probably trying to keep things quiet to see how bad things really are over there."

'Damnit, this means that we really can be infected then.' Leon thought to himself.

"Things are pretty bad over here, Hunnigan." Leon muttered.

"I know. Okay, you're going to hit a large barn while you're heading north, near the outskirts of town. You won't miss it. This is your meeting point, which will be at 2000 hours. That should give you enough time to get there with the subject. Understood?" Hunnigan responds, genuinely worried for the agent. She was not going to let him fail.

"Got it. Kennedy out." Leon put the communicator away, taking a look at his watch in the process. They had a little over two hours to reach their rendezvous point. Leon takes a seat on the floor, leaning against a wall, figuring they could rest for a bit before moving again.

'This doesn't look good if the BSAA is involved.' Leon didn't know much about the agency, but he knew enough to know that they were only sent in when things got messy, and especially when it dealt with bioterrorism. The only thing he knew for sure was that Chris Redfield had a lot to do with the agency's creation. 'Maybe he's the one we'll meet up with,' Leon thought, perhaps just a little sarcastically. Leon had great respect for the man, but his fighting style was just too much. He reminded Leon of a bull in a china store. Leon tried to be a bit more discreet during his missions, and now since he had to look after Ashley, he wanted to keep any kind of attention away from them.

Leon loaded and reloaded his gun, a bad habit he had picked up during his academy days. He tended to do it while he was deep in thought. What really had him worried was the fact that he and Ashley were infected. Well they didn't know for sure but between Hunnigan's report and Ashley remembering being injected with something things didn't look too good. On top of getting out of here safely, he had to search for some kind of cure or antivirus, if there _was _one. 'One thing at a time Kennedy, it's time to go meet this agent.'

"Come on Ashley, we need to move," Leon said, waking the girl. He felt a little bad for cutting their break short, but they really had to keep moving. He hoped that they wouldn't have any kind of run in on their way.

They made their way back around and through an entrance into the town. The area was eerily quiet, but this kept Leon on high alert. He knew never to let his guard down because shit always seemed to happen when he least expected it. He moved slowly between the buildings, holding his handgun steady by his side. He turned back towards Ashley and signaled her to stay quiet, trying to keep their presence unknown for as long as possible. 'Just a little bit further. Come on Kennedy, you've been through worse,' Leon said to himself. His thoughts went straight back to Raccoon City and the nightmare he survived there.

* * *

><p>The sound of their feet pounding on the pavement was almost deafening. They had been running for what seemed like hours and there just seemed to be no end to these things.<p>

"Leon, what do we do?" he heard Claire say next to him. He probably has never been so relieved to run into someone. Having Claire with him kept him grounded. It wasn't just himself he had to save. He was responsible for Claire now too. The weight of his standard issue in one hand and holding Claire's hand in the other kept Leon from thinking that what was going on was just some kind of crazy dream.

'This is happening,' Leon said to himself. 'This is happening and I've got to get us out of here.' He looked over to the woman next to him. He probably could not have asked for a better partner for this either. Claire knew her way around guns, knives, and apparently had a mean right hook. 'Courtesy of her brother, I'm sure.' Leon had heard a little about the older Redfield from the other officers when he had visited the police department the month prior. From what Leon learned, Chris had an incredibly hot head and an excellent shot to match. 'I'd believe it, seeing what Claire can do.' He silently thanks all the high powers out there that Claire could handle her own.

"I think our best bet is to head to the police station. We can meet up with the other officers there and hopefully find your brother." Leon replies, squeezing Claire's hand for assurance. Claire looks towards the rookie and gives him a small smile, squeezing his hand back. It was really the small things like that that were getting him through the night. It gave him some type of normality, because let's face it—the walking dead was definitely not normal.

Claire let go of his hand and stepped in front of him to get a better look at their surroundings. Leon immediately missed the warmth. Sure he had only known the girl for a few hours but he was sure after this they would have a bond that would be unbreakable. 'If we get out of this,' Leon said to himself. He shook his head. 'Of course we're getting out of this. Claire and I are going to get out of this mess, get piss drunk, and then maybe I'll ask her out sometime.' Leon grins sheepishly to himself. He always did have a thing for red. He took another look at the woman standing in front of him. She was a few inches shorter than he was but she was thin, he would say frail, even. But he knew that those looks were deceiving. Claire seemed to have almost superhuman strength, using her body as a weapon at times. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, wisps of hair falling to frame her face. Claire's hair seemed to be almost an unnatural shade of red but even then it just seemed so _Claire_. It was then that he finally noticed the writing on the back of her vest and smirked.

"Made in heaven, huh?" Leon said, a hint of humor to his voice.

"Come on, Leon. Look at me. I'm basically God's gift to man," Claire said, her voice serious. She hadn't looked back at Leon when she said this; she was still trying to figure out the shortest and possibly the safest way to the police station. Leon snorted at her no nonsense attitude.

"Of course, Miss Redfield, how could I have forgotten?" His voice light and teasing.

Claire looked up at him, grinning. "Really though, it's a gift from my brother. Before my parents passed my mom always used to tell me that I was born my brother changed from a rowdy, annoying kid to an overbearing, protective brother. It kind of just stuck I guess. And Chris is still an overbearing, protective bear of a brother." Claire shrugged, sadness flashing through her eyes momentarily.

'Jeez, no parents, huh? Must have been tough. No wonder she's so close to her brother,' Leon contemplates. Leon was about to apologize for her loss when Claire beat him to it.

"Don't feel sorry for me though, my brother and I made due. And it probably helped that our parents left us a fortune to live off of. But anyway, I think the quickest way to get to the station is through the school. If I remember correctly, the school backs up against the police station so once we get through there we're home free." Claire grins at him again and Leon can't help but return the favor. Even if it was just for a little while, he and Claire were able to normal. For that moment, there were no zombies, no running for their lives, there was just them. Leon and Claire.

* * *

><p>The sounds of people speaking Spanish shook Leon from his thoughts.<p>

"Shit," he muttered. He looked over at Ashley and she seemed to have heard it too. "Looks like we've got company." Leon attempts to backtrack but stops after realizing that the villagers were coming from that way too. They were closing in on them and the only way they could move was forward. Leon raised his gun and he could feel Ashley move closer to him. His plan was to try and take out as many as he could and find a place that he and Ashley could hide out in until the villagers moved again. It wasn't the greatest plan but it was the only one he had. "You ready?" He asked. She nodded in reply, fear evident on her face. "Stay close, okay? It'll be okay." He seemed to be saying that a lot today. Leon moved out of the shadows of the buildings, and quickly took out two of the villagers that were closest to them. He quickly put away his side arm and grabbed the shotgun that was slung over his shoulder, ready for the onslaught that was about to come.

Leon quickly glanced behind his shoulder, hoping that the path behind them would be clear. It seemed that it was and Leon quickly pumped two rounds from the shotgun, putting more distance between him and the villagers. Taking another look around, Leon knew that the number of villagers that were surrounding them was too great. He had to find somewhere that he and Ashley could lose them. Leon looked around, releasing two more rounds into the mob when he saw it, an incredibly small alleyway that could probably only fit one person at a time. Leon hoped that would slow the villagers down enough for him and Ashley to find somewhere to keep low.

"Ashley, this way!" Leon exclaimed, grabbing the girl's hand. He pulled her across the way and shoved her into the opening of the alley. "Keep moving!" He commanded. Ashley began to run as Leon emptied the shotgun into the crowd. Leon turned around and ran through the alley, pushing Ashley forward. He could see the end of the alley and prayed to God that there was nothing on the other side waiting for them. Leon sprinted the last half of the way and reached Ashley just as she got to the other side. He looked behind him as he withdrew his handgun. The villagers had gotten tangled up at the chokepoint, none of them able to get through. Leon ran out of the alley and pushed Ashley behind him, surveying the area with his handgun ready. The area was secure. Leon noticed a small house about twenty feet away and grabbed Ashley's hand as he started to run. "We'll hide out there for a bit until everything calms down," Leon says, not looking at Ashley. He wanted to get to the house before the villagers got through so they could stay hidden. He knew they didn't have much time.

Leon was practically dragging Ashley by the hand; he knew that she was tired. They had been running all day and she could barely keep up. He made it to the door and used the momentum of his body to force it open. Leon slouched, resting his hands on his knees. The dim light in the room momentarily blinded him but he could feel Ashley collapse on the floor next to him. It didn't take him long to realize that they were not alone. He looked up and found himself face to face with the end of an assault rifle.

"Move!" he distinctly heard a voice say. That's all Leon needed to hear. He dove over to where Ashley was, covering her from harm. He looked up towards the door and watched as villager who had gone unnoticed by him was shot cleanly between the eyes. The villager fell to the floor, unmoving. Leon watched as a pair of feet moved to the door and closed it shut. The figure moved back towards the table and adjusted the lantern a little bit brighter. Leon couldn't believe his eyes. It was her. She looked exactly the same way she did six years ago, complete with her high ponytail. The woman moved towards him, crouching down. He noticed her eyes narrow slightly, almost scrutinizing him. A brief smile graced her lips as she held her hand out to him to help him up.

"Long time no see, Partner."

'_Holy shit_.' Leon was staring face to face with Claire Redfield.

* * *

><p>And there you go! Wooo I'm so excited to write out these next chapters. Please let me know what you guys think or if you'd like to see anything in particular with this story! I'm always open to suggestions. :D<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

"Claire." Leon said, shock clearly evident on his face. For a second, he thought he was dreaming; she looked exactly like she did six years ago. Christ, had it really been that long? But what was she doing here? As these questions raced through Leon's head he looked over her briefly. Claire's hair, he noted, was much longer than he remembered, even with it up in a ponytail. She wore a dark olive colored tactical vest over a plain black short-sleeved shirt. That's when he noticed the BSAA crest adorned on her sleeve. Well, that answered his question. Leon really didn't know how to feel. A part of him was glad, ecstatic even, to see her again—not only because it's been so long since he's seen her, but also because with Claire here, he knew they could get out of anything. Another part of him wanted to scream. Claire being here meant that she was in the fight against bioterrorism. He wanted to protect her from all the bullshit in the world, yet here she was, right in the middle of hell with him.

"Claire." He said again as he took the hand she offered and stood up. He enveloped her in a monstrous, bone-crushing hug. It really had been too long.

"Whoa, Kennedy. It's good to see you, too," Claire stated, amusement playing in her eyes. God, he had missed that look.

Ashley looked on at the odd pair. Clearly, they knew each other and were close. Ashley may have been young but she wasn't a fool when it came to observing people. They were definitely close, she concluded. The two seemed to be having some kind of unspoken conversation, though she wasn't sure if they even knew what they were doing. Claire interested her. Ashley was so used to agents and secret service been men or overly masculine women that seeing Claire, looking the way she does, made her question just how qualified the petite red-head was.

"Leon?" Ashley interrupted them. "Who is this?"

"Of course. Ashley, this is Claire Redfield. A member of the BSAA." Leon replied, regarding Ashley's questioning stare. "She may not look like much, but this one can do some damage." Claire shoved him slightly for his remark.

"Hello, Ashley," Claire extended her hand to the girl. "Your father sent me here to help this big oaf get you out of here safely. I hope you don't mind." Claire shot her a grin. Ashley immediately liked the woman in front of her. She exuded a kind of confidence that Ashley hoped she would have one day. She knew this woman wouldn't take shit from anyone.

Ashley was about to reply when a fit of coughs overcame her. Her body shook violently as she doubled over in pain. Alarmed, Claire crouched next to the girl to get a better look at her.

"Hey, are you okay?" Claire asked. Ashley removed her hand from her mouth and her eyes widened in fear. This didn't go unnoticed by Claire. Before Ashley could do anything else, Claire grabbed the girl by her shoulders and quickly looked her over. It was faint, but it was there. The border of Ashley's irises were tinted red. _Shit_. Ashley saw Claire's expression and pushed away from her.

"I'm fine," She snapped. "Just leave me alone!" Ashley got up quickly, stumbling over the foot of a chair in her haste. She managed to recover and ran up the stairs, not wanting to be near either of the agents at the moment.

"Leon, what the hell is going on?" Claire asked, her voice demanding. She immediately thought back to the first villager she had encountered. His eyes were red. Claire's mind was racing. What the hell were they going to do if the President's daughter was infected? She tried to keep herself calm, she needed to speak to Leon first before anything was concluded.

"Ashley remembers being injected with something when she was first abducted." Leon said slowly. He couldn't look away from this situation anymore, not with what just happened to Ashley.

"She's infected." Claire said, her voice absent of question.

"Claire…" Leon started. She looked up to the older man and he didn't need to say anything more. His eyes gave him away. They always gave him away.

"No, no, no, Leon," Claire said, disbelieving. She shook her head, trying to make sense of things. "You, too?" She whispered. He gave her a slight nod and her heart fell. This was supposed to be a simple rescue mission. Well as simple as it could get in the world of bioterrorism. But now they had to look for a cure, _if_ there even was one.

"I was knocked unconscious by the village leader. When I found Ashley, we ran into some creep who told us we'd been infected. It was their plan all along, Claire. They wanted to send Ashley back when the virus had fully taken over to send some kind of message." Leon said, relaying the story to her.

"Shit." Claire said, exasperated. "Shit!" She looked over to Leon. "Do you know how long you've been infected for?" She asked. "Do you know how long the incubation period is?"

"No more than twenty four hours and no, I don't. What happened to Ashley hasn't happened to me yet. We need to find out how to fix this or find a cure soon." Leon said.

"No shit." Claire replied. "Well Kennedy, you two have just made my job much more interesting." She thought for a moment. "Have you spoken to your contact about this?"

"Not explicitly, no," Leon said with a shake of his head.

Claire stood a ways away from him, distracted with her thoughts. "I need to tell Chris."

"What? Claire!" Leon exclaimed. He wasn't sure what would happen if the government knew they were infected. He didn't exactly feel like being a test subject.

Claire sighed. "Leon, please. I need to tell him. Chris may be able to get us information to help you and Ashley. He may know if there is a way to reverse this thing." She stared at him pointedly, her gaze as fierce as ever. Leon stared back at her but knew it was for not. He knew that look; he had seen it six years ago in Raccoon City. It was the 'we either do this my way or I'll beat the crap out of you before we still do it my way look'. Claire would win, she always did. "Fine Red, we'll do this your way."

Claire moved closer to the man upon hearing this. He stood slightly taller than her, the top of her head hitting his chin. She scanned Leon over. He had definitely grown up. He grew out of his boyish features that were there six years ago, if it was from age or experience, Claire wasn't sure. Leon had grown out his a hair a bit, his hair framing his vibrant, blue eyes. Those hadn't changed at all—they were still that startling shade of blue Claire remembered. He was handsome, she decided. She was sure he had always been handsome, but the last time they had met, she was too preoccupied with the idea of zombies trying to eat her alive to think of much else.

"It'll be fine, Leon," Claire said, reassuring the older agent, and maybe a little part of herself as well. "You saved me last time, so let me help you this time."

Leon said nothing at this, not really knowing what to say in this situation. Instead, he offered her a small smirk and tugged lightly at some of the loose hair that framed Claire's face. Oh, how easy it was for them to fall back into their routine. Sure, they had met in the most unfortunate way, but Claire and Leon had created a kind of bond that both were unaware of.

She made a face at him. Her hair had always held some fascination to the ex-cop, the color was "just unnatural", he had told her once. Claire was adamant that it was her natural color (which Leon realized had to be true because Claire just didn't seem to be the type to change her hair color, come on) but he would tug on it from time to time. He called it a sign of endearment while she called it annoying.

Claire eventually laughed. "I guess old habits die hard, huh?" She teased. "I'm going to contact Chris and then check on Ashley, okay? Get some rest, no complaining."

Leon sighed, defeated. He wasn't going to win this one, but then again, when did he ever win with her? "Sure thing, Red." He replied to her retreating figure.

* * *

><p>"Chris."<p>

"Yes, dear sister? I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon."

"I've come into contact with Leon and the subject. They came running into the house I was in, which was convenient for me." Claire said, hesitating with the other news she had for him. She was not really sure how to go about this subject.

"Definitely. And what is it, Claire? I know you're keeping something from me. I've always been able to tell, you know, ever since you killed my goldfish when we were kids."

Claire scowled at him through the communicator. "Hey, I didn't kill Mr. Giggles, okay? So what if I put extra food in his tank, it was just incase he wanted a snack! He was just so gluttonous that he ate himself to death!" Claire smacked her forehead with her palm; she could not believe they were arguing about this right now. "But really, Chris, it's serious." She paused for a bit. Chris remained silent, waiting for her to continue. "It's Leon and Ashley. They're infected."

"What? Claire, this is bad. Not that being infected is ever good, but we don't even know what we're dealing with right now."

"Please, Chris. That's what I'm asking for your help to figure out how to fix this. I'm not coming how with this mission being a failure." Claire said. She was going to make damn sure that Leon and Ashley were coming home, _virus free _.

"I know. I'll see what information I can come up with over here. We may have already found a connection, though. A group named the Los Illuminados has come up on our radar. There seems to be a lot of activity coming from them lately; I'll see what I can get from this side. Keep your eyes open if you see anything there."

"Thanks, I'll see what I can find. Things have just gotten a whole lot worse over here."

"I'm sure. Come home alive, okay. Some of your boys asked if you liked your gift, by the way. What did they get you?"

"A new Desert Eagle. I know you're jealous, Big Brother."

"Damn! Nice gun. Remind me to take on an SOU sometime so I can get cool shit like that. How's Kennedy, by the way? Is he really as pretty as he looks in his file picture? Doe he really have emo boy hair?" Chris couldn't help asking. Leon's looks had always been a laughing matter for him.

"God, Chris, you gossip like an old woman."

"Come on, Claire! I'm bored over here. You know that I hate being behind a desk!" Claire could hear Chris pouting over the communicator.

"For a man your age, Chris, pouting isn't very attractive. But if you must know, his hair is very…N'Sync. "

"Oh I knew it. He really is a pretty boy! Remind me to actually meet him someday so I can laugh at him." Chris said. He never understood how the government agent could look the way Leon did, with the line of work he did.

"Well not everyone takes steroids, Chris," Claire rolls her eyes, taking advantage of the fact that her brother can't see her.

"What did I tell you, Claire? I'm all natural!"

"Sure, sure, Big Brother. Just keep looking for information for me, okay? We want out of here as soon as possible."

"Got it. I won't forgive you for that comment, though. Even men have pride issues."

Claire scoffed. What man _didn't_ have pride issues? "Of course, of course. I'm sorry, you know I do it because I love you." Claire said, unable to give him her signature puppy eyes. Those always got him. "I'll let you know if anything else comes up. Redfield out." Claire signed off.

She sighed, shaking her hair out of her ponytail. It fell down in a massive red wave down her back. 'Maybe I'll just chop this off when I get home,' Claire thought. It would certainly be more convenient. Jill had always told her that her hair was like a red flag. 'Well, let's work on getting home in one piece first.'

Claire left the room to find Ashley. It was time for some damage control. She disappeared up the stairs in search for the girl. Luckily, she wasn't hard to find.

"Hey," Claire said softly, sitting down next to the girl. Ashley was sitting in the corner of a room, hiding her face in her arms. "Ashley, everything is going to be okay. Leon and I are going to make sure we get you out of here, safe and sound."

"You don't know that!" Ashley cried. "I know, you and Leon are supposed to be the best, but what if we're stuck here forever? What if we die here?" Ashley disappeared behind her hands again, letting out a sob.

Claire sighed, feeling a little bad for the younger girl. She knew exactly how she felt. She recalled having the same feeling in Raccoon City. However, she used that fear to drive her determination to survive.

"Look, Ashley. You're going to have to just trust Leon and I to take care of you, okay?" Claire paused for a moment. "Do you know anything about raccoon City?"

"The city that was destroyed, right?" Ashley looked up curiously at the older woman, curious as to why she would bring this up.

"Is that all you know?"

"Yes…well," Ashley started. "I did hear Daddy talking about it to someone. I wasn't supposed to hear though. Please don't tell him!" She cried. Claire gave her an encouraging smile, signaling her to go on. "An accident happened, right? And that's why the city was destroyed. They wanted to cover everything up."

"That's right." Claire stated. "Leon and I met on the night of the incident." Ashley's eyes widened. "The _things_ we had to fight off there were not that different to the people who are coming after us right now. They may have even been worse."

"What were they?" She asked out of curiosity.

Claire sighed. "You could call them zombies."

"Zombies? Like the walking dead?"

"Exactly like that. I had gone into Raccoon City that night looking for my brother. The town seemed deserted so I went into a diner that my brother would take me to whenever I visited. That was where I ran into my first zombie.

* * *

><p>"Hello? Is there anyone here?" Claire said as she stepped into the diner. She hoped someone inside would be able to tell her where Chris was. She had lost contact wit him ten days ago. She walked further into the diner, curious as to why there was no one there. It was always busy every other time she was there.<p>

As she looked around, Claire noticed a few things out of place. A few papers were strewn on the floor and some utensils were scattered around. She heard some movement on the other side of the counter. Claire gave a brief sigh of relief before peering over the ledge. "Excuse me, I…" Claire started, but the sight before her made her blood run cold. A man was hovering over another body, _eating_ it. 'Zombies' was the first thing that ran through her mind. She didn't want to believe it, but what other explanation could there be? The man turned up to look at her and his appearance confirmed Claire's original thought. The zombie got up slowly and shuffled slowly towards her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," Claire said. "I'll just be on my way. You can go back to enjoying your…dinner." Claire mentally slapped herself. 'Really, Redfield? I doubt you can sweet talk you way out of this one.' She started to back up, making her way to the front door, her attention on the walking corpse in front of her. It wasn't until she was near the entrance that she noticed the thumping noises coming from the windows. She looked over her shoulders and her eyes went wide. More of them had appeared and were trying to get in. Claire whipped her head back around, trying to find another way out. The zombie in front of her stumbled over an overturned chair and that's when Claire noticed a door at the back of the diner. She quickly ran past the zombie, trying not to look to see if the other one had decided to get up to join in on the fun. She could hear something move behind her so she sprinted the last few steps and shoved the door open. When Claire looked up she was looking straight into the barrel of a gun.

"Don't shoot!" She cried, raising her hands up in defense.

"Get down!" Claire heard a voice yell and she dove to safety. She heard a gunshot and didn't care to look back—she knew what happened. Claire heard footsteps move towards her and felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay? We've got to get out of here before more of those things come and find us." A man's voice said. She looked up, finally getting a good look at him. He was a few inches taller than her, and wore a police uniform. The man was young, probably only a few years older than her. The way his hair fell in front of his eyes gave him a boyish look, and his eyes were startling blue.

"I'm okay." Claire said, trying desperately to calm herself down. "Do you know what's going on here?"

"I don't know. I had come into the city this evening for work. It's my first day on the job. My name is Leon, by the way. Leon Kennedy." He held out his hand to get Claire to her feet.

"Claire Redfield." She replied. Leon looked at her with some recognition.

"Redfield? Do you know Chris?"

"He's my brother! I came here tonight looking for him. Do you know him?" Claire inquired. She had met most of Chris's friends before but had never seen Leon before.

Leon shook his head. "I've only heard of him while I was here for my interview. He seems very accomplished." Leon watched a small smile fleet over Claire's features. "Why don't we make our way to the police station? I'm sure they'll know what's going on and hopefully we'll find your brother there."

"Sounds like a plan," Claire said, nodding her head in agreement. She watched as Leon checked the barrel of his gun. He turned to look at her and offered her a comforting smile.

"Let's get going then, Partner."

* * *

><p>"Really? That's how you guys met?" Ashley said, in awe. "And it was his first day as an officer?"<p>

"Yeah. I'm really lucky that Leon was with me that night. I definitely would not have made it out without him."

"Claire doesn't give herself enough credit. She definitely saved me a few times that night. _I_ wouldn't have been able to get out without her." Both women turned towards the doorway, searching for the owner of the voice. Leon was leaning against the doorjamb, his arms crossed. He had gone looking to see where Claire had went and was surprised to hear her tell Ashley the story of their first meeting. It looked as if Claire had managed to calm the girl down and was immediately grateful that she was there. Claire always did have a way of getting people to relax.

Claire made a face at his words. "You're being too nice, Leon."

"I'm being honest. You had an amazing shot, better than any of the boys I trained with at the academy. And you were only nineteen at the time, right?"

"Oh stop it, Leon. You know who my brother is, and you definitely know he wouldn't let me be on my own if I didn't know how to defend myself. And it was your first day on the job, I can only imagine how you felt," Claire said, trying to get the attention off of her. She never did well with praise.

Ashley practically snorted at the two. 'Are they really that dense?' She may not be experience in the way that Leon and Claire were, but she was pretty good at making observations. These two definitely had a lot of things to talk about and figure out together. "Okay you two lovebirds, if you're done praising each other to the high heavens, I would really like to rest a little more." She nearly erupted in laughter at t he looks on the two agents faces.

Claire was the first to recover. "Are you sure? We can stay with you if you want."

Ashley gave her a smile. "I'll be okay, Claire, really. And from what it sounds like, you two need to catch up." She sent them off with a wave of her hand. Leon and Claire didn't push the subject further and left the room. They walked down to the front room in silence. Leon looked over to the women next to him, still in disbelief. He couldn't believe she was there. Claire. She wasn't supposed to be here. This isn't the life that he wanted for her. Leon wanted Claire to have a normal life, away from all of this.

"So, I'm just going to address the elephant in the room" Leon started as they made their way through the house. "What are you doing here, Claire?"

Well, that wasn't exactly what Claire was expecting. "What do you mean, 'what am I doing here?' The BSAA sent me here to save your ass because they thought you needed backup. If you think otherwise, I'll be glad to let them know." Claire snapped at him. Sure, her and Leon were friends, but she wouldn't tolerate anyone who thought she was incapable. She gave him a long, hard look and Leon knew he said something wrong.

"Whoa, Claire, I didn't mean anything like that. I just meant…what are you doing _here_? With the BSAA? Living this life? I hoped that you would have been able to have a normal life, without all of this crazy shit."

Claire sighed. "You can't decide how I live my life, Leon. Living "normal" just wasn't in the plans for me. After I came home from Antarctica with Chris, I was a mess. I couldn't focus, I couldn't sleep. The nightmares," Claire started, cringing at the memories, "the nightmares were terrible. I left on my own for a while, just trying to figure things out. You can imagine how unhappy Chris was, so don't even try to lecture me about it now. But it wasn't until we spoke that I realized what I needed to do."

Leon knew exactly what Claire was talking about. They had only talked once since they were separated, and he had wanted it to stay that way, as much as it killed him. Leon hoped that staying away would have kept Claire safe. As far as the government knew, she wasn't there the night that Raccoon City went down. But he realized how stupid he was for wishing for something like that. 'Come on, Leon. She's a Redfield, of course she'd never be able to stay out of trouble.'

"You made me realize that I needed to do what I could, too. I don't want anyone else to have to go through what we did. You made me realize what my purpose was. I'll gladly put my life on the line to keep the innocent safe, just like you." Claire stopped her speech with a shrug of her shoulders. It felt good getting that off her chest, to let the person who inspired her to be who she was know just exactly how important this was to her.

Leon took a few steps, closing the gap between them, and enveloped her in a tight embrace. It felt familiar; comfortable even. He hadn't felt that in a while. Leon had a hard time being comfortable around others, his past made it difficult for him to open up. He had a very few small number of good friends and even fewer girlfriends. His relationships never lasted long. The women he was had dated in the past never understood him. They didn't understand why he slept with and gun under his pillow, why he triple checked the locks at night. But what they didn't understand the most was the demanding nature of his job. His job had to come first, and all of the women he had dated hated the thought. However, the one thing that usually ended relationships for Leon was his unwillingness to communicate; he really was a closed book. All of them thought he was crazy when he would wake up at night, screaming in terror about zombies. So it was odd that he could feel so comforted by a woman he hadn't seen in six years. It was as if they had just seen each other yesterday. 'But this is Claire,' Leon concluded. Claire, who was powerful, protective, beautiful, and just _perfect_.

"Please don't misunderstand me, Claire. If I could have picked anyone to be here with me, it would be you. Because, between the both of us, I know we'll survive. I just thought, maybe, you would have been able to escape all of this."

Claire looked up at the man before her. "I know Leon. But I'm here now, and I've been assigned to get you out of here." Claire laughed as he tightened his hold on her. Before he could say anything else she continued. "But I missed you, you know? We had gone to practically living together to, well…" Claire trailed off. She had never gotten over that guilt.

"Don't worry about it, Red. I knew what you had to do. If anything, I'm the ass for not helping you more."

"Oh, don't even try to put this on you," Claire said. "Oh! I almost forgot!" Claire exclaimed, pushing herself away from the agent. Leon looked on in interest as Claire searched through her tactical vest. "I have something for you," Claire mumbled. God, she knew she hated having so many pockets in her vest. "Ah, here it is!" Claire took the photo from her side pocket and presented it to Leon with a flourish. "I think you dropped this."

Leon stared dumbfounded at the photo. He hadn't expected to be looking at it again; he thought he had lost it along with his jacket. He took the photo from Claire. "Where did you find this? I didn't think I'd ever see this again." He smiled fondly at the picture of him, Claire, and Sherry. He looked at the woman in front of him. 'She definitely hasn't changed at all.'

"I found it on one of the locals and figured you might like it back. Why do you even have it?" Claire teased. "I never took you to be the sentimental type."

"It's a good memory for me, okay? And besides, I like to think of you and Sherry as my first successful rescue."

Claire snorted. "Right, Kennedy, you keep telling yourself that." She nudged him with her elbow. Claire missed this. She missed how normal Leon could make things even when things were definitely not normal. It amazed her that even being apart for six years really didn't change things between them. He was her constant in Raccoon City, and he was her constant now. "Go ahead and rest for a bit, you look like you need it." Claire said as she moved to sit at a small table as Leon walked across from her to sit on the floor, propping himself against the wall to face her.

"I don't look that bad, do I?"

"Sorry, sweetheart, but you look like hell. But that's okay, not everyone can look as good as I do all the time."

Leon let out a bark of laughter. "You are a piece of work, Red, but it's good to be back with you. When we get home from this shit hole, how about you take me up on that date I offered six years ago?" Leon grinned and moved his head to the side quickly, avoiding the hair tie that Claire shot at him.

"You know you have a thing for asking me out during life threatening situations?"

"What can I say? Capable women are my thing," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. Claire rolled her eyes and told him to go to sleep. God, _this_ is what he missed.

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><p>Annnddd I'm back! I'm so sorry that's it's been a while. Finals happened a few weeks ago so I was preoccupied with studying and then Diablo 3 happened...and well, I was busy playing that. xD I hope this chapter makes up for it though, and it's a bit longer than the usual! I hope you all are having a glorious Memorial Day weekend. Jeez, did I just use the word glorious? I've really been playing too much Diablo 3...but yes! I'm on break now so I'll definitely be updating more frequently.<p>

Thanks everyone and remember to let me know what you guys think! I would love to hear your thoughts about this little story. :)

OKAY IT'S LIKE 2 AM OVER HERE AND I HAVE WORK IN THE MORNING.


	6. A response to Anonymous

Hey everyone, so I recently got a review from an anonymous person that I felt needed to be addressed, so I am putting it here. I'm sorry to have to put it on here, but since I couldn't respond to our dearest Anonymous, this was the best I could come up with. I'll be taking it down when I update again, so I'm sososo sorry if you guys thought it was another chapter!

Here is the review, by the way:

"This is so dumb... there's no reason for these two agrgue like this... and of all reasons. Chris and Claire and the ones who are brother and sister, not Leon and Claire. Leon has to be a blind idiot just so Claire can give a speech?

Romance between these two would be out of place in this story, they act more like brother and sister than future lovers"

* * *

><p>Dear Anonymous,<p>

I apologize for writing such a "dumb" story, and that you feel the need to make such a review about it. As such, I felt like I needed to reply to your review, and since you so bravely remained anonymous, I have come to the conclusion that I will address your review here. I am very sorry to my other readers for this and will remove this when I update my story next, which will be soon.

Well to start things off, Anonymous, I applaud you for your thoughtful review. However, if you would like to provide me with some constructive criticism, please take the time to proofread your submission before you send it to me because frankly, I cannot understand half of what you spoke about.

What was "so dumb" about my story, Anonymous? I am not sure which "two" you are talking about when you said, "there's no reason for these two to argue like this…and of all reasons". And for the record, yes, I am aware that Claire and Chris are siblings, not Leon and Claire. That would be incestuous for the purpose of my story, which I do not support. And what speech did Claire give? If you could specify exactly what part of the text you were referring to, it would be a great help and I would love to discuss it with you further.

As for the dynamic between Leon and Claire, I am sorry that you feel the way that you do. You see, my intention for this story is to paint the picture of Leon and Claire's growing relationship instead of throwing them headfirst into a whirlwind romance. I wanted my characters to have substance and different dimensions of emotion. Neither Leon nor Claire are perfect in my eyes, and I wanted to portray that to my readers. However, if you are looking for that kind of romance, I recommend that you read the Twilight series, I have a feeling you will enjoy it.

So Anonymous, let us go into this further. I have a few reasons why I wanted to take their romance slow, which is why it may not seem like they could be "future lovers". First of all, Leon and Claire are old friends. Yes, they were forced to make a bond quickly and parted soon after, but I would like to think that even with so much time between them, their ties would still remain. I always felt that it would time for these two to develop romantic feelings towards each other. They are not naïve characters who know nothing of the evils of the world. No, they are both scarred people who have witnessed their fair share of death and are too used to the idea of losing people that relationships, and just the idea of it, are difficult for them. Instead, I see these two growing to realize their importance to each other and figuring out just how deep their feelings run for one another. Also, they are first and foremost both committed to a mission. While I understand that this is probably not the most ideal place for a romance to take place, but the idea of Claire being with Leon in Resident Evil 4's setting is something that I have played around with for a long time and finally have found the time to write it down. I may describe them doing foolish things from time to time but it is my way of showing the characters relationships with each other. But ultimately, in my story Leon and Claire have a mission they need to accomplish, and when it comes down to it, they know when they need to get something done and will put that above all else. Because really, how realistic is it for Leon and Claire to jump each other's bone when they are in the middle of Spain being attacked by crazy people?

So Anonymous, I hope I have answered your questions. If you wish to speak to me about this subject further, it would give me no greater pleasure than to speak to you in the privacy of a message. And for all of my other readers, I apologize for taking up your time. I promise to update soon, hopefully sometime this coming week and very much appreciate all of your continuous support. I really am nothing without all of you.

Sincerely,

Bon-Chan


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